Albeit slowly, menswear brands are starting to breach downtown Greenwich. While it’s largely female-focused fashion shops that line Greenwich Avenue, New Zealand-based Rodd & Gunn is the latest of several menswear companies bringing their wares to town.

This month, Rodd & Gunn announced it will open its first Connecticut shop at 354 Greenwich Ave., though some of its designs have been sold at the Darien Sport Shop and Raggs in New Haven, according to the brand’s website.

“We’re trying to be thoughtful about where we open in the U.S. and truly find communities with a strong sense of identity that we think will embrace our New Zealand sensibilities,” Rodd & Gunn CEO Mike Beagley said in a media statement. “Greenwich is not just picturesque but has a sense of style and presence, and we were immediately drawn to that. We hope to appeal to Greenwich men who appreciate a smart-casual approach to style that’s relaxed but still very much put together.”

The fashion and bespoke leather luggage brand that’s dressed New Zealand’s national rugby team and 2012 Olympic team follows fellow menswear retailers Suit Supply, which opened on Mason Street in October, and Bonobos that launched near the top of the avenue this spring, in making Greenwich their first Connecticut outposts.

Yet real estate broker Tom Torelli of Allied Property Group, who was the sole broker of the Rodd & Gunn deal, said he doesn’t believe menswear companies opening in town will be a trend anytime soon.

“I think it’s a coincidence that they opened in the same year,” he said.

Greenwich will count as Rodd & Gunn’s fourth U.S. store, according to the company. Other forays into the American market have included Newport Beach, Calif., last year; Brooklyn, N.Y., in May; and a shop-in-shop at Wingtip in San Francisco. There are also plans to open in Los Angeles this month.

Its Greenwich location has a planned opening date in early October, according to the media statement. The 3,500 square-foot shop slotted between the Apple Store and Athleta formerly housed Rinfret Home & Garden, the retail portion of interior designer Cindy Rinfret’s business. Rinfret opted against re-signing her lease for the space and left in June for nearby offices on Lewis Street, where she still operates her interior design firm.

The building where Rodd & Gunn will open is owned by Schachter Family LLC and was chosen by the New Zealand company mostly because of its ideal size and location, according to Torelli.

“This size, 3,500 square feet, is hard to find on Greenwich Avenue,” Torelli said. “They also felt like they will have some customer overlap with Apple and Mitchells.”

The “competitive bidding” between Rodd & Gunn and another potential tenant represented a welcome change of pace from the beginning of the year, Torelli said, describing retailer interest in the avenue as “quiet” until recently.

“In the second half of the year, we’ve seen a big pickup in number of inquiries and showings,” Torelli said, adding he’s heard from retail executives that they’re seeing the importance of strong online and physical presences to their sucess.

“Certain types of retail are definitely in trouble,” Torelli said. “But the retail industry has definitely decided that brick-and-mortar is here to stay.”